The First Berserker: Khazan Review (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, & PC)

At this point, knowing a game is Soulslike isn’t enough to warrant grabbing a copy for yourself. FromSoftware’s formula has simply been replicated enough times to become familiar. At times, though, you’ll find replicas of the Souls-like formula that manage to stand out. Whether it’s tweaking the core combat system or enriching your playthrough with an invigorating story, we’ve received a few Soulslike games that have stuck on our minds longer than expected. 

Games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice stand out for their unique parry system that demands precise timing and mastery. Meanwhile, Nioh thrives on fast-paced combat with layered mechanics that ensure a satisfying sense of progression and challenge. Enter The First Berserker: Khazan, a hardcore action RPG that takes place in the Dungeon Fighter Online universe. It’s a Soulslike that immediately has you questioning its uniqueness among the spree of recent titles in the genre. 

Well, let’s break apart the story and gameplay in The First Berserker: Khazan review article below. Who knows? Perhaps Neople’s new game will be your next addiction. 

Fall From Grace

After defeating the fearsome Berserk Dragon, the Pell Los Empire’s nobles reward you by sending you into exile. They lie that you’ve committed acts of treason, severing your tendons on both arms, stripping you of your General Khazan status, and sending you off to die. Naturally, your thirst for revenge will be ignited, but not without help from the underworld. 

Mid-transport to Mount Heinmarc, a sudden avalanche frees you. A demonic demigod called Blade Phantom possesses your body, hoping to use you in service of his fight for his crumbling world. Yet you have other pressing matters on your mind: To seek revenge on all who foiled your name. 

Eventually, Khazan and Blade Phantom come to an agreement that serves both party’s interests. But not before you can accumulate strength and power on the 16 main missions (levels) and side missions The First Berserker: Khazan has. The missions are in typical Soulslike fashion. 

Soulslike Every Which Way

You slay every enemy on a relatively linear path, occasionally springing up puzzles and traps. Checkpoints serve as “save points,” where you respawn, as well as enemies, in case of death on the battlefield. You do unlock treasure chests and rewards that enhance your skills and abilities.

New unlocks and upgrades will come in handy when facing the big, bad boss at the end of each level. And as you might expect, the bosses are often a tough nut to crack. Dying is inevitable, hence, acquiring every in-game currency, buff, status effect, skill boosts, rewards, and upgrades is essential to leveling the playing field. 

No Way But Through

Ultimately, though, beating the most fearsome mini-bosses will come down to player skill. Games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice inspire the parry combat system in The First Berserker: Khazan. You simply cannot dodge-roll your way through boss fights. You have to engage and, more often than not, rely on precisely timed parries to block incoming attacks. 

It doesn’t mean that you cannot dodge incoming attacks. It’s possible, yet the tankier bosses won’t go down without your chunking away at their health bar every opportunity you can. The more likely chance is they’ll overpower you, forcing a restart. So, it comes down to parries or, alternatively, counterattacks that often inflict damage on enemies. 

Pick Your Weapon of Choice

The First Berserker: Khazan, indeed, has varied combat tools at your disposal. Weapon types are three: spears, greatswords, and dual blades. Your weapon of choice comes down to your fighting style and enemy type. Spears are agile and light, which is great for draining stamina. Greatswords, on the other hand, deal significant damage but at a slower rate. 

Meanwhile, the dual blades are aggressive and elusive, too, though requiring closing the distance between enemies. Eventually, either weapon type will kick in better, and you can begin leveling them up. Fortunately, each weapon type has an individual skill tree. You’ll need Skill points, earned through engaging in battle, to unlock the nodes on either skill tree or naturally unlock them via story progression. 

The skill trees come in handy, availing you of valuable bonuses and special attacks. And the depth these unlocks can give you is immense. They can grant you new weapon abilities but also modify your basic attacks, dodge, parries, and counterattacks. So, for instance, your dodges, while evading damage intake, may inflict damage on the enemy when well-timed. 

Star of the Show

All of this is familiar to Soulslike fans and RPG gamers alike. The progression system is easy to grasp and, over time, grows more in-depth to provide more ways to defeat enemies. Given that roughly 90% of your playthrough will involve slaying enemies, a deep progression and combat system are welcome. But that’s not the star of the show.

Everything from the mission structure to the progression system uses mechanics we’ve seen before. The First Berserker: Khazan itself can recycle its enemy types, which, given it’s a mostly linear game with nearly 80 hours for completionists, is bound to regurgitate certain bits. Side missions are recreations of battles you’ve already beaten. Yet, you still play through them for the rewards. 

Because the rewards sure prove essential for the boss battles, that’s the center of attention. Enemies and mini-bosses only give you a fraction of the challenge to expect in the boss fights. You may learn a few key dodge, parry, attacks, and counterattacks. Yet, landing them successfully in the boss fights is like unknowingly opening a nasty can of worms.

Can of Worms

The First Berserker: Khazan’s boss designs are nothing extraordinary, certainly not by Soulslike standards. The striking visuals and dramatic animations sure are thrilling. However, none of the earlier missions prepare you for the second boss that takes everything in you to beat, and the successive ones after that.

Nearly all bosses have two phases, with all sorts of wild attacks spread between them. Some AoE attacks splash the entire arena with blazing fire. Other attacks are unblockable. Meanwhile, some inflict passive damage, even when you successfully dodge them. The First Berserker: Khazan’s bosses never stop beating you down, whether it’s two health bars that take a lifetime to drain or seemingly unpredictable attack patterns.

I Had Some Help

If anyone tells you The First Berserker: Khazan is difficult to beat, believe them. And it doesn’t apologize for it. In fact, the game gives you rewards for getting your ass beat. Based on how much of the boss’s health you can whittle down, you’ll earn Lacrima for leveling up your stats and Skill points for unlocking new skills, though with a limit to how many points you can earn per mission.

And that’s essentially how gamers are managing to get through The First Berserker: Khazan‘s insane difficulty. Sure, boss fights feel like bashing your head against a wall. However, you do have the means to get out of this jar of pickles. You can summon a Spirit of Advocacy, for instance. However, you’ll need to level up your summons for them to prove effective by essentially beating other summons.

The point is The First Berserker: Khazan has its workarounds, they just take time to find. Even in the boss fight itself, you can find a workaround for unblockable attacks, for example, by using a counterattack to deflect them. You can take advantage of the enemy’s stamina, dodging and parrying their incoming attacks until they run low, then proceeding to bury them in a flurry of devastating slashes and rage. 

Patience Pays

It’s a dancefest, truly, one that will leave your fingers numb and head heavy with frustration. And then it’ll all melt at the joy of finally toppling down a menacing boss. The satisfaction every boss win brings is indescribable after restarting the fight, mixing and matching every sort of skill and weapon buff, anticipating a boss’s attack, and successfully timing a counterattack, among other shenanigans. 

When it all clicks, The First Berserker: Khazan’s hidden beauty begins to shine. The story may be lackluster, despite its run-of-the-mill but potentially profound story-worthy premise. The missions may regurgitate content, resulting in repetitive enemy encounters and combat. Even the environment’s caves and ruins can appear bland at times. But the boss fights, man; they truly are an addicting tug-of-war.

Verdict

Neople has given the Soulslike genre a shot, and for their first try, The First Berserker: Khazan isn’t too bad. It may falter in its storytelling and mission structure, which can grow repetitive. However, boss battles redeem any gripes you may have. They start off extremely difficult, with multiple tries at toppling down some of the most menacing bosses gaming has seen. 

Over time, though, you master the skills needed to level the playing field, whether it’s anticipating the enemy’s next move, the precise timing of your dodges and parries, or making the most of the varied weapon skills and upgrades at your disposal. 

If a sequel is in the works, The First Berserker: Khazan could climb up the ladder to rank among the best Soulslike games.